The 1931–32 South Africa tour of Britain and Ireland was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the South Africa national rugby union team against the four British Home Nation teams. The tour also took in several matches against British and Irish club, county and invitational teams. This was the fourth South Africa tour and the third tour of the Northern Hemisphere.

The tour was extremely successful for the South Africans, as the team only lost a single match. In the tests played the team beat all four home nations. The only team to beat the Springboks was the invitational East Midlands county team. The final tour record saw 26 matches played, with South Africa winning 23, losing one and drawing two.

Although very successful on the pitch, the touring South Africans were unloved by their hosts and the press back home. Bennie Osler, the South African captain, introduced a style of play which centred on a continual kicking game; either into touch in an attempt to support his large pack or diagonally across the pitch for his wings to chase. This was seen by many critics of the time as 10-man tactics, with the backs taken out of the match, and thus the entertainment brought by previous South African tours removed.

Welsh journalist 'Old Stager' stated "The Africans, by adherence to ten-man rugby, are winning their matches, but are not capturing the hearts and the imagination of rugby followers...". O.L. Owen in his History of the RFU concurred with these thoughts, "The least spectacular and, so far as back play was concerned, the most disappointing of the South African touring sides..."[1]

1.
Wales national rugby union team
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The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy, Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 26 times outright. Wales most recent championship win came in 2013, the governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union, was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international against England. Wales performances in the Home Nations Championship continued to improve, experiencing their first golden age between 1900 and 1911 and they first played New Zealand, known as the All Blacks, in 1905, when they defeated them 3–0 in a famous match at Cardiff Arms Park. Welsh rugby struggled between the two World Wars, but experienced a golden age between 1969 and 1980 when they won eight Five Nations Championships. Wales played in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 where they achieved their best ever result of third, following the sport allowing professionalism in 1995, Wales hosted the 1999 World Cup and, in 2005, won their first Six Nations Grand Slam. That was the first Grand Slam won by a team playing most of the matches away from home, Wales won two more Grand Slams in 2008 and in 2012, and in 2011 came fourth in the Rugby World Cup. Their home ground is the Millennium Stadium, currently known for reasons as Principality Stadium. Eight former Welsh players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame, Rugby union took root in Wales in 1850, when Reverend Rowland Williams became Vice-Principal at St Davids College, Lampeter, where he introduced the sport. Wales played their first international on 19 February 1881, organised by Newports Richard Mullock, Wales played against England, losing by seven goals, one drop goal, on 12 March 1881, the Welsh Rugby Union was formed at The Castle Hotel, Neath. Two years later, the Home Nation Championship – now the Six Nations Championship – was first played, however, rugby in Wales developed and, by the 1890s, the Welsh had developed the four three-quarters formation. This formation – with seven backs and eight forwards, instead of six backs and nine forwards – revolutionised the sport and was adopted almost universally at international. With the four three-quarter formation Wales became Home International Champions for the first time in 1893, Wales next won the Championship in 1900, heralding the first golden age of Welsh rugby which was to last until 1911. They won two more Triple Crowns in 1902 and 1905, and were runners up in 1901,1903 and 1904, when Wales faced New Zealands All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park in late 1905 they had not lost at home since 1899. The referee ruled a scrum to Wales and the score did not change, the loss was the All Blacks only loss on their 35-match tour. In 1906, Wales again won the Home Championship, and later that played the South African national side. Wales were favourites to win the match, but instead South Africa dominated in the forwards, two years later, on 12 December 1908, Wales played the touring Australians, the Wallabies, who they defeated 9–6. In 1909, Wales won the Home Championship and then, in 1910 – with the inclusion of France – the first Five Nations and it would be nearly forty years before they achieved a Grand Slam again

2.
Ireland national rugby union team
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The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship, which they have won twelve times outright, the team also competes every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions. Ireland is also one of the four unions that make up the British and Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions, Irelands highest ever position in the World Rugby Rankings is second, which they reached for the first time in 2015. Dublin University was the first organised football club in Ireland. The club was organised by students who had learnt the game while at public schools in Great Britain, carlow, UCC, and Ballinasloe which amalgamated with Athlone to form Buccaneers. In 1874, the Irish Football Union was formed, Ireland lost their first test match against England 7–0 at the Oval on 15 February 1875. Both teams fielded 20 players in match, as was customary in the early years of rugby union. Irelands first home game was also against England in the year held at the Leinster Cricket Club in Rathmines as Lansdowne Road was deemed unsuitable. The first match at Lansdowne Road was held on 11 March 1878 and it was not until 1881 that Ireland first won a test, beating Scotland at Ormeau in Belfast. Ireland turned up two men short for their game in Cardiff in 1884 and had to borrow two Welsh players, the first victory Ireland had at Lansdowne Road took place on 5 February 1887. It was also their first win over England, by two goals to nil, on the third of March 1888, Ireland recorded their first win over Wales with a goal, a try and a drop goal to nil. In 1894, Ireland followed the Welsh model of using seven backs instead of six for the first time, after victory over England at Blackheath, Ireland won back-to-back matches for the first time when recording their first win over Scotland on 24 February 1894. Ireland went on to beat Wales in Belfast and win the Triple Crown for the first time, in the 1890s, Rugby was primarily a game for the Protestant middle class, the only Catholic in Edmund Forrests 1894 team was Tom Crean. Of the eighteen players used in the three games, thirteen were from three Dublin clubs – Wanderers, Dublin University and Bective Rangers – and the five were from Ulster. Such was the level of interest in the visit of the first All Blacks team to Dublin in November 1905 that the IRFU made the match the first all-ticket rugby international in history, Ireland played only seven forwards, copying the then New Zealand method of playing a rover. The game ended New Zealand 15 Ireland 0, on 20 March 1909, Ireland played France for the first time, beating them 19–8. This was Irelands biggest victory in international rugby at that time, their highest points tally,30 November 1912 was the first time the Springboks met Ireland at Lansdowne Road, the 1906 tour game having been played at Ravenhill. Ireland with seven new caps were overwhelmed by a margin of 38–0

3.
England national rugby union team
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The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy and they are ranked second in the world by the International Rugby Board as of 20 June 2016. England were the first, and to date, the team from the northern hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup. They were also runners-up in 1991 and 2007, the history of the team extends back to 1871 when the English rugby team played their first official Test match, losing to Scotland by one goal. England dominated the early Home Nations Championship which started in 1883, following the schism of rugby football in 1895, England did not win the Championship again until 1910. England first played against New Zealand in 1905, South Africa in 1906, England was one of the teams invited to take part in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and went on to appear in the final in the second tournament in 1991, losing 12–6 to Australia. Following their 2003 Six Nations Championship Grand Slam, they went on to win the 2003 Rugby World Cup – defeating Australia 20–17 in extra time and they again contested the final in 2007, losing 15–6 to South Africa. England players traditionally wear a shirt with a Rose embroidered on the chest, white shorts. Their home ground is Twickenham Stadium where they first played in 1910, the team is administered by the Rugby Football Union. Four former players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame, Englands first international match was against Scotland on Monday 27 March 1871. Not only was this match Englands first, but it proved to be the first ever rugby union international. Scotland won the match by a goal and a try to a try, in front of a crowd of 4,000 people at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh. A subsequent international took place at the Oval in London on 5 February 1872 which saw England defeat Scotland by a goal, in those early days there was no points system, it was only after 1890 that a format allowing the introduction of a points system was provided. Up until 1875 international rugby matches were decided by the number of goals scored, in 1875, England played their first game against the Irish at the Oval, winning by one goal, one drop goal and one try to nil, the match was Irelands first ever Test. England defeated Scotland in 1880 to become the first winners of the Calcutta Cup and their first match against Wales was played on 19 February 1881 at Richardsons Field in Blackheath. England recorded their largest victory, defeating the Welsh by seven goals, six tries, in 1889, England played their first match against a non-home nations team when they defeated the New Zealand Natives by one goal and four tries to nil at Rectory Field in Blackheath. In 1890 England shared the Home Nations trophy with Scotland, England first played New Zealand in 1905. The All Blacks scored five tries, worth three points at this time, to win 15–0, England first played France in 1905, and Australia in 1909 when they were defeated 9–3

4.
Scotland national rugby union team
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The Scotland national rugby union team represents Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union, the team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and participates in the Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years. As of 27 February 2017, Scotland are fifth in the World Rugby Rankings, the Scottish rugby team dates back to 1871, where they beat England in the first international rugby union match at Raeburn Place. Scotland competed in the Five Nations from the tournament in 1883. In 2000 the competition accepted a sixth competitor, Italy, thus forming the Six Nations, since this change, Scotland have yet to win the competition. Their best finish came in 1991, where they lost to the All Blacks in the third place play-off, Scotland have a strong rivalry with the English national team. They both annually compete for the Calcutta Cup, each year, this fixture is played out as part of the Six Nations, and Scotland last won it in 2008. In December 1870 a group of Scots players issued a letter of challenge in The Scotsman and in Bells Life in London, in front of around 4000 spectators, the Scots won the encounter by a try and a goal to a solitary try scored by England. England later got revenge by winning the match at the Kennington Oval. The Calcutta Cup was donated to the Rugby Football Union in 1878 by the members of the short-lived Calcutta Rugby Club, the members had decided to disband, the cup was crafted from melted-down silver rupees which became available when the Clubs funds were withdrawn from the bank. The Cup is unique in that it is competed for only by England and Scotland. The first Calcutta Cup match was played in 1879 and, since that time, in 1882 the Home Nations Championship, the fore-runner of the modern Six Nations Championship was founded with Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland taking part. Further Triple Crowns wins for Scotland followed in 1901,1903 and 1907, however, Scotlands triumph in 1907 would be the last for eighteen years as the First World War and Englands dominance afterwards would deny them glory. In 1897 land was purchased, by the SFU, at Inverleith, thus the SFU became the first of the Home Unions to own its own ground. The first visitors were Ireland, on 18 February 1899, international rugby was played at Inverleith until 1925. The SFU bought some land and built the first Murrayfield Stadium which was opened on 21 March 1925, in 1925 Scotland already had victories over France at Inverleith, Wales in Swansea and Ireland in Dublin. England, the Grand Slam champions of the two seasons were the first visitors to Murrayfield. 70,000 spectators saw the lead change three times before Scotland secured a 14–11 victory which gave them their first-ever Five Nations Grand Slam

5.
Rugby union
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Rugby union, known in some parts of the world simply as rugby, is a contact team sport which originated in England in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is between two teams of 15 players using a ball on a rectangular field with H-shaped goalposts on each try line. Historically an amateur sport, in 1995 restrictions on payments to players were removed, World Rugby, originally the International Rugby Football Board and from 1998 to 2014 the International Rugby Board, has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886. Rugby union spread from the Home Nations of Great Britain and Ireland, early exponents of the sport included Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and France. Countries that have adopted rugby union as their de facto national sport include Fiji, Georgia, Madagascar, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Rugby union is played in over 100 countries across six continents, there are 101 full members and 18 associate members of World Rugby. The Rugby World Cup, first held in 1987, takes place four years with the winner of the tournament receiving the Webb Ellis Cup. The Six Nations Championship in Europe and The Rugby Championship in the Southern Hemisphere are major annual competitions. The origin of football is reputed to be an incident during a game of English school football at Rugby School in 1823. Although the evidence for the story is doubtful, it was immortalised at the school with a plaque unveiled in 1895, despite the doubtful evidence, the Rugby World Cup trophy is named after Webb Ellis. Rugby football stems from the form of game played at Rugby School, Old Rugbeian Albert Pell, a student at Cambridge, is credited with having formed the first football team. During this early period different schools used different rules, with pupils from Rugby. Other important events include the Blackheath Clubs decision to leave the Football Association in 1863, despite the sports full name of rugby union, it is known simply as rugby throughout most of the world. The first rugby football international was played on 27 March 1871 between Scotland and England, by 1881 both Ireland and Wales had representative teams, and in 1883 the first international competition, the Home Nations Championship had begun. 1883 is also the year of the first rugby tournament, the Melrose Sevens. During the early history of union, a time before commercial air travel. The first two notable tours both took place in 1888—the British Isles team touring New Zealand and Australia, followed by the New Zealand team touring Europe, All three teams brought new styles of play, fitness levels and tactics, and were far more successful than critics had expected. After Morgan began singing, the crowd joined in, the first time a national anthem was sung at the start of a sporting event, in 1905 France played England in its first international match

6.
South Africa national rugby union team
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The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks, is governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerseys with white shorts, and their emblems are the Springbok, the team has been representing South Africa in international rugby union since 30 July 1891, when they played their first test match against a British Isles touring team. The team made its World Cup debut in 1995, when the newly democratic South Africa hosted the tournament, South Africa regained their title as champions 12 years later, when they defeated England 15–6 in the 2007 final. They were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the Laureus World Sports Awards, the Springboks also compete in the annual Rugby Championship, along with southern-hemisphere counterparts Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. They have won this championship on three occasions in sixteen years and they also play Test matches against the various rugby-playing nations. Their position in the World Rugby Rankings has varied between the No.1 and No.7 positions, the first British Isles tour took place in 1891, at Diocesan College. These were the first representative games played by South African sides, the tourists won all twenty matches they played, conceding only one point. The British Isles success continued on their tour of 1896, winning three out of four tests against South Africa, South Africas play improved markedly from 1891, and their first test win in the final game was a pointer to the future. In 1903 the British Isles lost a series for the first time in South Africa, Rugby was given a huge boost by the early Lions tours, which created great interest in the South African press. South Africa would not lose another series—home or away—until 1956, the first South African team to tour the British Isles and France occurred during 1906–07. The team played tests against all four Home Nations, England managed a draw, but Scotland was the only one of the Home unions to gain a victory. The trip instilled a sense of pride among South Africans. The South Africans played a match against a France team while the official French team were in England. It was during this tour that the nickname Springboks was first used, the 1910 British Isles tour of South Africa was the first to include representatives from all four Home unions. The tourists won just one of their three tests, the Boks second European tour took place in 1912–13. They beat the four Home nations to earn their first Grand Slam, by the first World War, New Zealand and South Africa had established themselves as rugbys two greatest powers. A Springbok tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1921 was billed as The World Championship of Rugby, the All Blacks won the first Test 13–5, The Springboks recovered to win the second Test 9–5, and the final Test was drawn 0–0, resulting in a series draw. The 1924 British and Irish Lions team to South Africa lost all four Tests to the Springboks and this was the first side to pick up the name Lions, apparently picked up from the Lions embroidered on their ties

7.
Bennie Osler
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Benjamin Louwrens Osler was a rugby union footballer who played internationally for South Africa. Osler played mainly at fly-half for both South Africa, and his team of Western Province. Osler was born at Aliwal North and he was first selected to play on 16 August 1924 against Britain when they toured South Africa. This was the first of his 17 consecutive Test appearances for South Africa, Osler played in the other three Tests of Britains tour, and contributed to South Africa winning three of the four Tests. The only Test of the series the Springboks did not win was their 3–3 draw in Port Elizabeth where Osler was temporarily knocked out, the next Springbok series was hosting New Zealands All Blacks in 1928. The teams had met once before in a Test series, drawn 1–1 in New Zealand in 1921, the first Test was played in Durban and the Springboks won 17–0, with Osler scoring a world record 14 points in the match. Osler played in the remaining three Tests and the series was eventually drawn 2–2, just like in 1921, oslers first overseas tour was in 1931 when he captained the Springboks on their 1931–32 tour to the Home Nations. He captained the team and played in all four Tests, playing against England, Ireland, Scotland, oslers Springboks became the second South African team, and only second of all time, to win a Grand Slam—a win over all four Home Nations on one tour. The tour continued into 1932 and the team eventually played 26 matches, in 1933 Osler played in his last ever Test series when Australia toured South Africa. They played a five match series and Osler played in all five Tests, during the series he scored a try, conversion and drop-goal. Osler is remembered as a fly-half who played a kicking game and his accuracy when kicking allowed South African teams he was in to play a forward oriented game, commonly referred to as ten-man rugby. His contributions to international rugby were acknowledged with his induction into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007 and the IRB Hall of Fame in 2009

8.
Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union
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The Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union is the union responsible for rugby union in the county of Gloucestershire, England and is one of the constituent bodies of the national Rugby Football Union. Formed in 1878, it has won the county championship on numerous occasions, the Union was formed at a meeting held at Gloucester in September,1878. At that meeting, the clubs represented were Clifton RFC, Gloucester RFC, Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester RFC, Rockleage, Stroud, and Cheltenham White Cross. The Union was formed due to the efforts of J. D. Miller, J. H. Dunn. All of whom were amongst the Unions first officers, for many years, the playing strength depended almost entirely on the Clifton and Gloucester Clubs. In the first five seasons the Union side only lost two of seventeen fixtures in Inter-County matches, the RFU recognised its success by electing in 1880 J. D. Miller to represent the West of England on the central executive. Ironically, the side then went through a period in which they had a very poor record. From 1883 to 1889 the team played only 10 times and of these 6 were lost,3 drawn and it was noted that the fortunes of the county side mirrored the success of the Gloucester City club side. When the Gloucester City side revived in the early 1890s, so to did the County, in the first year of the County Championship Gloucestershire were the winners in the South-Western group, but when they entered the second phase, they were crushed by Lancashire. From 1984 all Championship finals were played at Twickenham, many notable players have represented the county. British and Irish Lions John Gordon ABear Mike Teague Mike Burton England internationals J. A. Bush W.0, moberly H. C. Baker Wales internationals S. H. Nicholls W. Watts G. Rowles Scotland internationals H. L. Evans H. F. In its early days, only Gloucester City was rated as a first class side, since then, the fortunes of the constituent clubs has varied enormously

9.
Bristol
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Bristol is a city and county in South West England with a population of 449,300 in 2016. The district has the 10th largest population in England, while the Bristol metropolitan area is the 12th largest in the United Kingdom, the city borders North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, with the cities of Bath and Gloucester to the south-east and north-east, respectively. Iron Age hill forts and Roman villas were built near the confluence of the rivers Frome and Avon, Bristol received a royal charter in 1155 and was historically divided between Gloucestershire and Somerset until 1373, when it became a county of itself. From the 13th to the 18th century, Bristol was among the top three English cities after London in tax receipts, Bristol was surpassed by the rapid rise of Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham in the Industrial Revolution. Bristol was a place for early voyages of exploration to the New World. On a ship out of Bristol in 1497 John Cabot, a Venetian, in 1499 William Weston, a Bristol merchant, was the first Englishman to lead an exploration to North America. At the height of the Bristol slave trade, from 1700 to 1807, the Port of Bristol has since moved from Bristol Harbour in the city centre to the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth and Royal Portbury Dock. Bristols modern economy is built on the media, electronics and aerospace industries. The city has the largest circulating community currency in the U. K. - the Bristol pound, which is pegged to the Pound sterling. It is connected to London and other major UK cities by road, rail, sea and air by the M5 and M4, Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway mainline rail stations, and Bristol Airport. The Sunday Times named it as the best city in Britain in which to live in 2014 and 2017, the most ancient recorded name for Bristol is the archaic Welsh Caer Odor, which is consistent with modern understanding that early Bristol developed between the River Frome and Avon Gorge. It is most commonly stated that the Saxon name Bricstow was a calque of the existing Celtic name, with Bric a literal translation of Odor. Alternative etymologies are supported with the numerous variations in Medieval documents with Samuel Seyer enumerating 47 alternative forms. The Old English form Brycgstow is commonly used to derive the meaning place at the bridge, utilizing another form, Brastuile, Rev. Dr. Shaw derived the name from the Celtic words bras, or braos and tuile. The poet Thomas Chatterton popularised a derivation from Brictricstow linking the town to Brictric and it appears that the form Bricstow prevailed until 1204, and the Bristolian L is what eventually changed the name to Bristol. Iron Age hill forts near the city are at Leigh Woods and Clifton Down, on the side of the Avon Gorge, a Roman settlement, Abona, existed at what is now Sea Mills, another was at the present-day Inns Court. Isolated Roman villas and small forts and settlements were scattered throughout the area. Bristol was founded by 1000, by about 1020, it was a centre with a mint producing silver pennies bearing its name

10.
Newport RFC
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Newport Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, South Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Premier Division, Newport RFC are based at Rodney Parade situated on the east bank of the River Usk. Due to the regionalisation of Welsh rugby in 2003 Newport RFC is now a club to Newport Gwent Dragons regional team. Newport supplied over 150 players to the Wales national team and international players to England, Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, Czech Republic, Canada, Newport’s early success was remarkable, winning every single match in their first four seasons between 1875 and 1879. They were also successful in other tournaments winning the first two South Wales Cup competitions, the club’s strength was reflected at international level, providing more players to the Welsh national team than any other club in the nineteenth century, including four captains. In 1881 Newport was one of the clubs present at the forming of the Welsh Rugby Football Union. Their dominance led Newport’s club secretary, Richard Mulloch to arrange a match against the English domestic champions Blackheath Rugby Club, with a record attendance of 5,000 spectators Newport were out-classed by their opponents, losing four goals and eight tries to nil. However, Newport had played two games in the five days and Blackheath brought in outside players to bolster their squad. In October 1879 Newport played Cardiff RFC in a game at Rodney Parade. In 1887, Newport player Charlie Newman was given the captaincy of the Welsh national team, in 1887 Newport player Tom Clapp was given the Wales captaincy and in 1888 he led the first Welsh side to beat Scotland, a team that included Newport players Powell and Gould. During the 1891–92 season, under captain Tom Graham Newport went unbeaten, winning 29 games, Graham brought a new professional attitude to the team, introducing weekly gym training and an avoidance of alcohol. In 1912 Newport hosted the touring South Africa national team, invincible in 1922–23 Welsh Club Champions 1920,1923. Provided 5 Welsh,1 English and 1 Irish captains, golden era of Wetter, Uzzell, Griffiths, Morley, Bunner Travers etc. Golden era of Jones, Burnett, Thomas, Meredith, Price, Watkins, beat Australia 1957, NZ1963, SA1969, Tonga 1974. Welsh Club Champions 1951,1956,1962,1969, won Welsh Merit Table and Anglo-Welsh Merit Table. Provided 7 Welsh,1 Czech Rep,2 Canadian,1 Fijian captains, introduced 7’s to Wales and won Snellings 10 times and R/U9 times. One of pioneers of floodlights in Wales, introduced squad systems / players playing on rota in Wales. Won Welsh Cup twice, R/U3 times, Welsh Premier League winners and R/U – twice

11.
Rodney Parade
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Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales. It is operated by Rodney Parade Limited, a wholly owned by Newport Rugby Football Club. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre, the ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the citys central bus and railway stations via Newport Bridge or Newport City footbridge. There is no car park at the ground but a number of multi-storey car parks are nearby. Rodney Parade is the ground of rugby union clubs Newport RFC. It is also the ground of Newport County football club. However, stadium capacity is reduced for football matches, Newport Squash Club has four courts at Rodney Parade. Rodney Parade has two covered stands, the two-tier Hazell Stand and the Bisley Stand which are along the touchlines of the pitch, the upper tier of the west stand is seated with 1,996 seats, including 40 Press seats and the lower tier is a standing terrace. The east stand is all-seated with a 2,526 capacity including 144 seats in 13 hospitality boxes, food/drink outlets, the cameras are therefore pointing westward and often show the sun setting over Newport city centre. The North Terrace is uncovered standing and adjoins the uncovered standing terrace on the west touchline alongside the west stand, the south end of the stadium houses players changing rooms, a media centre and the small uncovered Sytner stand with 222 seats for away football fans. Away football fans are also sited in block F of the east stand giving a capacity of 1,300 for away football fans. A large video screen was erected at the end in December 2013. The hospitality suite is located in the end of the east stand on the upper level. The rugby ticket office and club shop is located at the end of the East Stand next to Gate 4 accessed via the main gates to the grounds off Grafton Road. The Newport County ticket office and club shop is a building just inside the main gate to the ground. To the north of the North Terrace is a floodlit training area. Further north, parallel to Grafton Road, is the Rodney Hall function room, in 1875 the Newport Athletic Club was created, and two years later they secured the use of land at Rodney Parade from Lord Tredegar for their cricket, tennis, rugby and athletics teams. Monmouthshire County Cricket Club played at Rodney Parade from 1901 to 1934, Newport rugby club enjoyed six highly successful seasons, having been unbeaten for six consecutive seasons

12.
Swansea RFC
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Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premiership. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea, the team is also known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip. The club is a club to the Ospreys. The club was founded in 1872 and, in 1881 it became one of the founder clubs of the Welsh Rugby Union. In the early twentieth century Swansea RFC was a successful club. For four consecutive seasons Swansea were the unofficial Welsh champions from the 1898/99 season through to 1901/02, under the captaincy of Frank Gordon the team would later go on a 22-month unbeaten run, from December 1903 through to October 1905. During this period Swansea appeared to be under-represented at international level, the immediate post war years brought only limited success, although a notable 6-6 draw was achieved against New Zealand in 1953 followed by a 9-8 victory against Australia in 1966. It was not until the centenary season in 1973/74, however. Swansea achieved further success as club champions in 1979/80, 1980/81, the 1990s saw success for the club, including being league champions on 4 occasions and Welsh cup winners in 1995 and 1999. A memorable 21-6 victory was recorded over then World champions Australia at St Helens on 4 November 1992, in season 1995/96 Swansea reached the semi-final stage of the European Cup. The 2003/04 season has seen a significant change with the introduction of rugby in Wales. Swansea Rugby Football Club Ltd, alongside Neath RFC are co-owners of the Ospreys, as a result, Swansea RFC returned to being an amateur team. In their first season Swansea missed out on promotion back to the Premiership, Swansea RFC defeated New Zealand 11-3 on Saturday 28 September 1935, becoming the first ever club side to beat the All Blacks. In November 1992, Swansea RFC defeated world champions Australia 21-6, players may hold more than one non-WR nationality. The following former players were selected for the British and Irish Lions touring squads whilst playing for Swansea RFC, the following former players captained the Wales national rugby union team whilst playing for Swansea RFC. See also Wales rugby union captains The players listed below have played for Swansea and have played international rugby. Fields of Praise, The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union, Swansea RFC/The Whites Ospreys Official Website Welsh Rugby Union

13.
St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground
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St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground is a sports venue in Swansea, Wales, owned and operated by the City and County of Swansea Council. Used mainly for rugby union and cricket, it has been the ground of Swansea RFC. In rugby union, St Helens was the venue for the first ever match of the Wales national team in 1882. It continued to be used regularly by Wales, often for the Five Nations Championship, until 1954, more recently, the ground has been used by the Wales womens team. Glamorgan County Cricket Club have regularly used St Helens as an outground since 1921, the ground has staged two One Day Internationals, England against New Zealand in 1973, and a 1983 World Cup match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. St Helens has also staged international matches in two other sports, in rugby league, Wales played thirteen matches at the ground between 1945 and 1978, two of which were part of the 1975 World Cup tournament. A football international between Wales and Ireland took place at St Helens in 1894, since the ground opened in 1873 it has been the home of the Swansea Rugby Football Club, and the Swansea Cricket Club. In 2005, the venue could hold an audience of 10,500 seated before it was re-developed, the famous east stand, which had provided cloisters over part of Oystermouth Road, has since been demolished and replaced with a metallic stand unloved by locals. The tallest flood light stand in Europe is in St. Helens Ground and this was to accommodate a new car park with 39 spaces for the Patti Pavilion. The first home international in the history of Welsh rugby was played at St Helens on 16 December 1882, the ground was the scene of New Zealands first victory over Wales in 1924. On 10 April 1954, St. Helens staged its last international until a Test match between Wales and Tonga was also played at the ground in 1997. Swansea Corporation discussed raising the capacity to 70,000 or even 82,000, however, the ground has been used to host three Welsh womens internationals. The first womens international at Swansea was in April 1999 against England, Swansea RFC defeated New Zealand 11-3 at St Helens on 28 September 1935, becoming the first club side to beat the All Blacks. Swansea also defeated world champions Australia 21-6 in November 1992, when Australia played their first match of their Welsh Tour, between 1919 and 1952, St Helens was also the home of Swansea Uplands RFC until the club sought its new home in Upper Killay. During the 1975 Rugby League World Cup, Australia defeated Wales 18-6 in front of 11,112 fans, the two sides again played at Swansea as part of the 1978 Kangaroo tour with the Kangaroos winning 8-3 before a crowd of 4,250. List of international rugby matches played at St Helens. List of Wales International football matches played at St Helens and it was in this ground in 1968 that Sir Garfield Sobers hit the first six sixes in one over in First-Class cricket. Sobers was playing as captain of Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan, Wales Minor Counties Cricket Club, who have played minor counties cricket since 1988, use the ground as a home base

14.
Abertillery RFC
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Abertillery Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in Abertillery. According to their website, they were founded in 1883, though sources state 1884. Their team colours are green and white and their ground is Abertillery Park in Abertillery. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a club for the Newport Gwent Dragons. Their informal nickname is the Green and Whites, according to the clubs official centenary book, Abertillery Rugby Football Club, Abertillery were founded on 21 September 1883 in a local public house, The Prince of Wales. These clubs had periods of growth and decline until two main teams emerged, Abertillery Town and Harlequins, these two merged into a single club known as Abertillery RFC in 1901. The early clubs did not originally own a match pitch of their own and these included the Gas Works Field and Old Barn Field. The club also did not possess a club-house, so from 1890 they used Wilkinsons Temperance Hotel, during the first decade of the clubs existence, matches were difficult to arrange and games often resulted in on-pitch arguments regarding the interpretation of rules. By 1892, Abertillery Town were facing other local clubs including Aberbeeg, Tredegar,1895 saw Abertillery enter the newly formed Monmouthshire League, and in January 1898 Abertillery were top of the league, but fell away in the second half of the season to finish fifth. The same year saw the purchase of the Old Barn Field by the local council, although not available immediately to the local clubs it would slowly become home to the local teams. The offer was declined, but a suggestion was made to form an athletic club for the mutual benefit of all the towns sporting organisations. The most notable members of the early 1890s team were the Boots family, david John Boots not only played for Abertillery, but later switched to first class team Newport. Boots represented Newport from 1899 through to 1907, and was the fullback for the team when faced the touring South Africans in 1906. 1901 saw the merging of the Abertillery Town and Harlequin teams. This was followed during the 1901/1902 season with the formation of the Abertillery Athletic Club, the Abertillery rugby team continued to grow, but would often slip back towards the more lawless style of their early years. The early 1900s saw the emergence of two of Abertillerys first two players, Joe Winmill and Alfred Jim Webb. Winmill was club captain for six seasons between 1902 and 1909, and was chosen to represent Monmouthshire at county level, winmills younger brother was Stanley Winmill, who played for Cross Keys and was selected to play for Wales in 1921. Webb became the first player to play international rugby directly from Abertillery and he played in three Welsh Championship winning teams and was selected to play for the British Isles team on their tour of South Africa in 1910

15.
Cross Keys RFC
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Cross Keys RFC is a rugby union club located in the Welsh village of Crosskeys. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a club for Newport Gwent Dragons regional team. Cross Keys are a team that have a history of achievements for a small. They first achieved first class-status in 1909, almost forcing their way into the top flight by winning the Monmouthshire league three times, by 1920 the team had their first international player, when Steve Morris won a cap for Wales. Morris would win 19 caps and captained Wales in 1925, caps followed during the 1920s for Ossie Male and Lonza Bowdler, both returned over several seasons for Wales, facing not only Five Nations Championships but also touring teams. In 1926 Cross Keys RFC found themselves in financial trouble. The WRU refused an appeal for a loan, but instead agreed to send the Welsh national team to play in an exhibition match at Pandy Park. The sell-out crowd assured Cross Keys future and resulted in a win for the home team thirteen points to eight. It has been noted by observers that the Cross Keys pack during the 1920s was extremely talented. And 1930s Cross Keys reached the final of the 2011–12 British and Irish Cup losing to Munster A, Cross Keys won their first Swalec Cup, defeating table topping Pontypridd at the Millennium Stadium in 2012. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality, the following list is made up of ex-Cross Key players who have all won international caps as either a rugby union or rugby league player. Whilst at Leeds Trevor Williams Stanley Docker Winmill Smith, David, Williams, fields of Praise, The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Official Site of Cross Keys RFC

16.
Abertillery
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Abertillery (/ˌæbərtᵻˈlɛəri/, Welsh, Abertyleri, meaning mouth of the River Tyleri is the largest town of the Ebbw Fach valley in what was the historic county of Monmouthshire, Wales. Following local government reorganisation it became part of the Blaenau Gwent County Borough administrative area, the surrounding landscape borders the Brecon Beacons National Park and the Blaenavon World heritage Site. Formerly a major mining centre the Abertillery area has been transformed in recent decades. The local landscape has long known for its varied natural beauty. Situated on the A467 the town is 15 miles north of the M4 and 5 miles south of the A465 Heads of the Valleys trunk road and it is about 25 miles by road from Cardiff and 47 miles from Bristol. According to the 2001 Census and information gathered by The Welsh Language Board,1,146 of Abertillery speaks Welsh, in the 2011 Census, this figure dropped to 7. 2%, a 2.7 percentage point drop. Abertillerys traditional-style town centre developed in the late 19th century. Spread over 4 main streets the town in its heyday had two department stores and a covered Victorian arcade linking two of the shopping areas. These were all included in a Blaenau Gwent Borough Council remodelling, the project included a new multi-storey car park, a revamp of public areas and the towns Metropole Theatre. This RICS award-winning building provides state of the art production, exhibition, conference, in March 2014 Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, officiated at the launch of Jubilee Square, a public facility in the town centre next to St Michaels Church. Major industry came to the area in 1843 when the localitys first deep mine was sunk at Tir Nicholas Farm. The town developed rapidly thereafter and played a part in the South Wales coalfield. Its population rose steeply, being 10,846 in the 1891 census and 21,945 ten years later, the population peaked just short of 40,000 around the beginning of the 1930s. Eventually there were six deep coal mines, numerous small coal levels, just one of the coal mines, Cwmtillery, produced over 32 million tons of coal in its lifetime and at its height employed 2760 men and boys. In 1960 an underground explosion at Six Bells Colliery resulted in the loss of life of 45 local miners, fifty years later the archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams officiated at the launch of the Guardian mining memorial. This artistically acclaimed monument standing at 20m tall overlooks Parc Arael Griffin, the adjoining Ty Ebbw Fach visitor centre provides conference facilities, a restaurant and a mining valley experience room. Not long after the disaster the renowned artist L. S. Lowry visited the area, the resultant landscape painting now hangs in the Museum of Wales in Cardiff. The coal mines remained the predominant economic emphasis until the run down of the industry in the 1980s

17.
Twickenham Stadium
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Twickenham Stadium is a rugby union stadium in Twickenham, south west London, England. Owned by the body of rugby union in England, the Rugby Football Union. The RFU headquarters are based in the stadium and it is the second largest stadium in the UK, after Wembley Stadium, and the fourth largest in Europe. Twickenham is often referred to as the home of rugby union, the stadium, owned and operated by the RFU, hosts rugby union fixtures year round. It is the home of the English rugby union team, who nearly all their home games at the stadium. Twickenham hosts Englands home Six Nations matches, as well as inbound touring teams from the Southern Hemisphere, apart from its relationship with the national team, Twickenham is the venue for a number of other domestic and international rugby union matches. It is also the venue for the final of the Aviva Premiership as well as the season-opening London Double Header, Big Game, anglo-Welsh Cup, Heineken Cup and Champions Cup finals have also been held here in the past. Sold out Tests against New Zealand and South Africa at Crystal Palace saw the RFU realise the benefit of owning their own ground. Committee member William Williams and treasurer William Cail led the way to purchasing a 10.25 acre market garden in Twickenham in 1907 for £5,500 12s 6d, the first stands were constructed the following year. Before the ground was purchased, it was used to grow cabbages, after further expenditure on roads, the first game, between Harlequins v. Richmond, was played on 2 October 1909, and the first international, England v. Wales, on 15 January 1910. At the time of the English-Welsh game, the stadium had a capacity of 20,000 spectators. During World War I the ground was used for cattle, horse, king George V unveiled a war memorial in 1921. In 1926, the first Middlesex Sevens took place at the ground, in 1927 the first Varsity Match took place at Twickenham for the first time. On 19 March 1938, BBC Television broadcast the England – Scotland match from Twickenham, in 1959, to mark 50 years of the ground, a combined side of England and Wales beat Ireland and Scotland by 26 points to 17. Coming into the last match of the 1988 season, against the Irish, the Twickenham crowd had only seen one solitary England try in the previous two years, and at half-time against Ireland they were 0–3 down. During the second half a remarkable transformation took place and England started playing a game many had doubted they were capable of producing. A 0–3 deficit was turned into a 35–3 win, with England scoring six tries and this day also saw the origins of the adoption of the negro spiritual Swing Low, Sweet Chariot as a terrace song. In the 35–3 win against Ireland, three of Englands tries were scored by Chris Oti, a player who had made a reputation for himself that season as a speedster on the left wing

18.
Villa Park
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Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Aston Villa Football Club since 1897, the ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway stations and has hosted sixteen England internationals at senior level, the first in 1899 and the most recent in 2005. It was the first English ground to stage international football in three different centuries, Villa Park has hosted more FA Cup semi-finals than any other stadium, having hosted 55 matches in total. In 1897, Aston Villa moved into the Aston Lower Grounds, a ground in a Victorian amusement park in the former grounds of Aston Hall. The stadium has gone through stages of renovation and development, resulting in the current stand configuration of the Holte End, Trinity Road Stand, North Stand. The club has planning permission to redevelop the North Stand. Before 1914, a track ran around the perimeter of the pitch where regular cycling meetings were hosted as well as athletic events. Aside from football-related uses, the stadium has seen various concerts staged along with sporting events including boxing matches and international rugby league. In 1999, the last ever final of the UEFA Cup Winners Cup took place at Villa Park, Villa Park also hosted the 2012 FA Community Shield, as Wembley Stadium was unavailable due to it staging the final of the Olympic football tournament. The Aston Lower Grounds, later renamed Villa Park, was not the first home of Aston Villa F. C and their previous venue, Wellington Road faced increasing problems including an uneven pitch, poor spectator facilities, a lack of access and exorbitant rents. As a result, in 1894, Villas committee began negotiations with the owners of the Aston Lower Grounds, situated in the former grounds of Aston Hall, a Jacobean stately home, the Lower Grounds had seen varied uses over the years. The current pitch stands on the site of the Dovehouse Pool, the committee immediately engaged an architect who began preparing plans for the site, which included construction of a new 440 yards cement cycle track to replace the existing cinder one. The main stand was to be built to the east on the Witton Lane side, with the track, construction of the final phase of the stadium began in the winter of 1896 following negotiations with contractors over the price. Several months behind schedule, the stadium finally opened on 17 April 1897. The process of fixing issues with the work would continue for a number of months thereafter. As built, the stadium could house 40,000 spectators, the first match at the ground, a friendly against Blackburn Rovers, took place on 17 April 1897, one week after Aston Villa had completed the League and FA Cup Double. After winning the championship in 1899, Villas record-breaking average crowd of 21,000 allowed the club to invest in a two-stage ground improvement programme. In 1911, Villa bought the freehold of the ground for £8,250, the buildings in the old aquarium and car park area for £1,500

19.
Roker Park
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Roker Park was an English football stadium situated in Roker, Sunderland. The stadium was the home of the English football club Sunderland A. F. C. from 1897 to 1997 before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Near the end of the history, its capacity was around 22,500 with only a small part of the stadium being seated. The stadiums capacity had been higher in previous years, attracting a crowd of 75,118. In the 1890s, the then Sunderland chairman and his brother decided to build a ground for the club. The club had negotiated to buy farmland that belonged to a Mr. Tennant, until this house was built, Sunderland still had to pay rent on the land. Within a year of the land being bought, Roker Park had been built, the Clock Stand had 32 steps, no seats and a crush barrier for safety. The turf was brought from Ireland, and lasted for 38 years, the pitch was designed to have a slight drop of about one foot from the centre of the pitch to each corner to help with drainage. On 10 September 1898 Roker Park was officially opened by Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, the first match at Roker Park was a friendly against Liverpool which Sunderland won 1–0, with Jim Leslie scoring the stadiums first ever goal. The Roker End was concreted in 1912, and by 1913 the capacity had risen to 50,000, the work on the new Main Stand nearly bankrupted the club. By this time the capacity of Roker Park was 60,000. More work continued in the 1930s and in 1936 the Clock Stand was rebuilt, the 114 m long structure was officially opened by Lady Raine, whose husband was Sir Walter Raine, the Chairman of Sunderland AFC at the time. A bomb landed in the middle of the pitch during the Second World War, in 1952, Roker Park was fitted with floodlights, being only the second ground in the country to do so after Arsenals Highbury stadium. The lights were only an addition, and were replaced by permanent structures at the end of the season after proving to be a success. When England hosted the 1966 World Cup, improvements were made to the Clock Stand, involving the addition of seats, during the 1970s, there were even more improvements to Roker Park. These improvements included installing underground sprinklers, upgrading the floodlights to European Standard Lux Value, installing electronic crowd monitoring systems, in the 1980s, with a downturn in the clubs fortunes, Roker Park started to decline. The capacity was reduced following the report in the Hillsborough Disaster of 1989. The site was too confined for expansion so chairman Bob Murray decided to look for a site for a new stadium, instead, five years later in 1997, Sunderland moved to the Stadium of Light, in nearby Monkwearmouth, on the site of the closed Monkwearmouth Colliery

20.
Anniesland
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Anniesland Scottish Gaelic, Fearann Anna is a district in the West End of the Scottish city Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde, and centres on the junction of the Great Western Road and Crow Road, originally a farm owned by the Jordanhill estate, it was slowly sold-off during the late Victorian era as Glasgow quickly expanded. Its collection of shops is located near Anniesland railway station, located on the Argyle, North Clyde and Maryhill Lines. Meanwhile, set back from the North of Great Western Road, is a retail park consisting of a large Morrisons supermarket, as well as branches of Mothercare, Currys. The retail park was formerly the site of the Barr and Stroud optics works, Anniesland is also home to Anniesland Court, Scotlands tallest listed building

21.
Melrose, Scotland
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Melrose is a small town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders, historically in Roxburghshire. It is in the Eildon committee area, the towns name is recorded in its earliest form as Mailros, the bare peninsula, referring to the original site of the monastery, recorded by Bede, in a bend of the river Tweed. The original monastery at Melrose is referred to in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle with the name Magilros, in the late Middle Ages, when the monastery had been re-founded in its present position, its name was symbolically represented by the visual pun of a mell and a rose. Melrose is the location of Melrose Abbey, re-founded for the Cistercian order by David I in the early 12th century and it is the site of the burial of the heart of Scottish king Robert the Bruce. An excavation was led to find a sealed casket, but it was not opened, the casket was placed in a sealed lead cylinder, and was then re-buried in the abbey back at its proper resting place. The remains of the Abbey are cared for by Historic Scotland, nearby is the Roman fort of Trimontium, and Dryburgh Abbey. Melrose is surrounded by the villages of Darnick, Gattonside, Newstead, Lilliesleaf. Melrose is the birthplace of Rugby Sevens and also has a rugby union team, Melrose is an area where rugby union has always been the most popular sport. Melrose Golf Club is a golf course situated on the edge of the town at the foot of the Eildon Hills. Melrose Cricket Club is situated next to Borders General Hospital at Huntlyburn, every year in June, the week-long Melrose Festival takes place. This involves appointing a Melrosian who has lived in the town for most of his life, Melrose is now host to the annual Borders Book Festival which also takes place during June. The 2005 festival hosted guests including Michael Palin and Germaine Greer, Ian Rankin, Melrose hosts the annual Eildon Two Hills Race, attracting many runners, and the Melrose Pipe Band Championships, attracting pipers from all over the world

22.
Cambridge University R.U.F.C.
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The Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club, sometimes abbreviated CURUFC, is the rugby union club of the University of Cambridge. The team plays Oxford University RFC in the annual Varsity Match at Twickenham Stadium every December, Cambridge players wear light blue and white hooped jerseys with a red lion crest. Many have gone on to represent their country and the British and Irish Lions, whilst at Cambridge University James Bevan became the first captain of the Wales national rugby union team. Football is believed to have introduced to Cambridge University in 1839 by Trinity College fresher Albert Pell. Pell had matriculated at Cambridge after going up from Rugby School, Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club was officially established in 1872, around three years after the Oxford rugby club was founded. The first Varsity match was contested between the two teams on 10 February 1872, the Cambridge team was led out by captain Isaac Cowley Lambert, wearing pink jerseys with a monogram on the left breast. Played away at the Park in Oxford, Cambridge lost by a goal to nil. CURUFC officials helped to draw up the laws of the game that were adopted by the Rugby Football Union when it was established in 1871, Cambridge became a Constituent Body of the Union in 1872, a status which the club still holds today. In 1874, Cambridge provided their first international player directly from the club, the following former players were selected for the British and Irish Lions touring squads whilst playing for Cambridge University. P. Oxford v Cambridge, The Story of the University Rugby Match

23.
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
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Cambridge is a university city and the county town of Cambridgeshire, England, on the River Cam about 50 miles north of London. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, its population was 123,867, there is archaeological evidence of settlement in the area in the Bronze Age and in Roman Britain, under Viking rule, Cambridge became an important trading centre. The first town charters were granted in the 12th century, although city status was not conferred until 1951, the University of Cambridge, founded in 1209, is one of the top five universities in the world. The university includes the Cavendish Laboratory, Kings College Chapel, the citys skyline is dominated by the last two buildings, along with the spire of the Our Lady and the English Martyrs Church, the chimney of Addenbrookes Hospital and St Johns College Chapel tower. Anglia Ruskin University, evolved from the Cambridge School of Art, Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology Silicon Fen with industries such as software and bioscience and many start-up companies spun out of the university. More than 40% of the workforce has a higher education qualification, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, one of the largest biomedical research clusters in the world, is soon to be home to AstraZeneca, a hotel and the relocated Papworth Hospital. Parkers Piece hosted the first ever game of Association football, the Strawberry Fair music and arts festival and Midsummer Fairs are held on Midsummer Common, and the annual Cambridge Beer Festival takes place on Jesus Green. The city is adjacent to the M11 and A14 roads, settlements have existed around the Cambridge area since prehistoric times. The earliest clear evidence of occupation is the remains of a 3, the principal Roman site is a small fort Duroliponte on Castle Hill, just northwest of the city centre around the location of the earlier British village. The fort was bounded on two sides by the lines formed by the present Mount Pleasant, continuing across Huntingdon Road into Clare Street, the eastern side followed Magrath Avenue, with the southern side running near to Chesterton Lane and Kettles Yard before turning northwest at Honey Hill. It was constructed around AD70 and converted to use around 50 years later. Evidence of more widespread Roman settlement has been discovered including numerous farmsteads, evidence exists that the invading Anglo-Saxons had begun occupying the area by the end of the century. Their settlement—also on and around Castle Hill—became known as Grantebrycge, Anglo-Saxon grave goods have been found in the area. During this period, Cambridge benefited from good trade links across the hard-to-travel fenlands, by the 7th century, the town was less significant and described by Bede as a little ruined city containing the burial site of Etheldreda. Cambridge was on the border between the East and Middle Anglian kingdoms and the settlement slowly expanded on both sides of the river, the arrival of the Vikings was recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 875. Viking rule, the Danelaw, had been imposed by 878 Their vigorous trading habits caused the town to grow rapidly. During this period the centre of the town shifted from Castle Hill on the bank of the river to the area now known as the Quayside on the right bank. In 1068, two years after his conquest of England, William of Normandy built a castle on Castle Hill, like the rest of the newly conquered kingdom, Cambridge fell under the control of the King and his deputies

24.
Oxford University RFC
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The Oxford University Rugby Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham, Oxford University RFC was founded in 1869, fifteen months before the creation of the Rugby Football Union. The first Varsity Match was played in February 1872 in Oxford at The Parks, in 1874 it was decided that the game be played on a neutral ground. The very first international player to be capped whilst at Oxford was Cecil Boyle, the record for most appearances in a Varsity Match for Oxford is held by Lewis Anderson who has played in six matches between 2010 and 2015, all won by Oxford

25.
Oxford
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Oxford is a city in the South East region of England and the county town of Oxfordshire. With an estimated 2015 population of 168,270, it is the 52nd largest city in the United Kingdom, the city is situated 57 miles from London,69 miles from Bristol,65 miles from both Southampton and Birmingham and 25 miles from Reading. The city is known worldwide as the home of the University of Oxford, buildings in Oxford demonstrate notable examples of every English architectural period since the late Saxon period. Oxford is known as the city of dreaming spires, a term coined by poet Matthew Arnold, Oxford has a broad economic base. Its industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing and a number of information technology and science-based businesses. Oxford was first settled in Saxon times and was known as Oxenaforda, meaning Ford of the Oxen. It began with the establishment of a crossing for oxen around AD900. In the 10th century, Oxford became an important military frontier town between the kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex and was on several occasions raided by Danes, Oxford was heavily damaged during the Norman Invasion of 1066. Following the conquest, the town was assigned to a governor, Robert DOyly, the castle has never been used for military purposes and its remains survive to this day. DOyly set up a community in the castle consisting of a chapel. The community never grew large but it earned its place in history as one of Britains oldest places of formal education and it was there that in 1139 Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote his History of the Kings of Britain, a compilation of Arthurian legends. Mary at Oseney and to the canons serving God in that place and we have made this concession and confirmation in the Common council of the City and we have confirmed it with our common seal. These are those who have made this concession and confirmation, a grandson of King John established Rewley Abbey for the Cistercian Order, and friars of various orders all had houses of varying importance at Oxford. Parliaments were often held in the city during the 13th century, the Provisions of Oxford were instigated by a group of barons led by Simon de Montfort, these documents are often regarded as Englands first written constitution. Richard I of England and John, King of England the sons of Henry II of England, were born at Beaumont Palace in Oxford, on 8 September 1157 and 24 December 1166 respectively. A plaque in Beaumont Street commemorates these events, the University of Oxford is first mentioned in 12th century records. Of the hundreds of Aularian houses that sprang up across the city, what put an end to the halls was the emergence of colleges. Oxfords earliest colleges were University College, Balliol and Merton and these colleges were established at a time when Europeans were starting to translate the writings of Greek philosophers

26.
Leicester
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Leicester is a city and unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest, in the 2011 census the population of the City of Leicester unitary authority was 329,839 making it the most populous municipality in the East Midlands region. The associated urban area is also the 11th most populous in England, the name of Leicester is recorded in the 9th-century History of the Britons as Cair Lerion, and in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as Ligora-ceastre. In the Domesday Book of 1086, it is recorded as Ledecestre, the second element of the name comes from the Latin castrum which is reflected in both Welsh cair and Anglo-Saxon ceastre. Based on the Welsh name, Geoffrey of Monmouth proposes a king Leir of Britain as a founder in his Historia Regum Britanniae. Leicester is one of the oldest cities in England, with a going back at least two millennia. The native Iron Age settlement encountered by the Romans at the seems to have developed in the 2nd or 1st centuries BC. This area of the Soar was split into two channels, a stream to the east and a narrower channel on the west. The settlement seems to have controlled a ford across the larger channel, the later Roman name was a latinate form of the Brittonic word for ramparts, suggesting the site was an oppidum. The plural form of the name suggests it was composed of several villages. The Celtic tribe holding the area was recorded as the Coritanians. The Corieltauvians are believed to have ruled over roughly the area of the East Midlands and it is believed that the Romans arrived in the Leicester area around AD47, during their conquest of southern Britain. The Corieltauvian settlement lay near a bridge on the Fosse Way, in the 2nd century, it received a forum and bathhouse. In 2013, the discovery of a Roman cemetery found just outside the old city walls, the remains of the baths of Roman Leicester can be seen at the Jewry Wall, recovered artifacts are displayed at the adjacent museum. Knowledge of the following the Roman withdrawal from Britain is limited. Certainly there is continuation of occupation of the town, though on a much reduced scale in the 5th and 6th centuries. Its memory was preserved as the Cair Lerion of the History of the Britons, following the Saxon invasion of Britain, Leicester was occupied by the Middle Angles and subsequently administered by the kingdom of Mercia. It was elevated to a bishopric in either 679 or 680, this see survived until the 9th century and their settlement became one of the Five Burghs of the Danelaw, although this position was short-lived

27.
Devonport, Devon
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Devonport, formerly named Plymouth Dock or just Dock, is a district of Plymouth in the English county of Devon, although it was, at one time, the more important settlement. It became a county borough in 1889, Devonport was originally one of the Three Towns, these merged in 1914 to form what would become in 1928 the City of Plymouth. It is represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of the Plymouth Sutton and its elected Member of Parliament is Oliver Colvile, who is a member of the Conservative Party. Plymouth Dock, as Devonport was originally called, began around 1700 as a settlement to house workers employed on the new naval base that was being built around Waters dock. By 1733 its population had grown to around 3,000, by 1811 the population of Plymouth Dock was just over 30,000 and the residents resented the fact that its name made it sound like an adjunct of Plymouth. In 1823 a petition to King George IV requested the town should be renamed, the king agreed, and to celebrate, the town built a column next to the recently completed town hall, both were designed by John Foulston. Devonport was first incorporated as a borough in 1837 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. Devonport became a county borough under the Local Government Act 1888, in the mid-eighteenth century a defensive earthwork was constructed around the town and dockyard. Within these dockyard lines, six square barracks were built between 1758-1763 to accommodate the garrison of troops required to man the defences, a series of redoubts were also constructed, forward of the lines, in the 1770s, including that at Mount Pleasant. In the early century, the dockyard lines were strengthened with stone ramparts and armed with guns. These defences became largely redundant with the building of a series of Palmerston Forts around Plymouth in the half of the nineteenth century. Much of the land forming the glacis beyond the lines became Devonport Park in the late 1850s. The high ground south of the town is called Mount Wise, enclosed within the town ramparts, it was given its own redoubt in the 1770s, with eight guns and two mortars protecting the coastal approach to the dockyard. From the late-eighteenth/early-nineteenth century both the military Governor and naval Commander-in-Chief of Plymouth were accommodated in houses on Mount Wise. During the millennium decade, Devonport received government New Deal for Communities funding of £48.7 million, since 2009, the investments have begun to transform Devonport – physically, socially, demographically. The Admiraltys release of land plots in Devonport has assisted the Regeneration project. One ex-MoD area, where new homes will be available from 2011, is the Admiralty House site at Mount Wise. Although there are pockets of regeneration work remaining to be completed, in 2011, the Devonport Heritage Trail was introduced, complete with over 70 waymarkers outlining the route

28.
Cardiff RFC
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Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens and they built a reputation as one of the great clubs in world rugby largely through a series of wins against international touring sides. Both South Africa and New Zealand have been beaten by Cardiff, through its history Cardiff RFC have provided more players to the Welsh national side and British and Irish Lions than any other Welsh club. The first recognised team to begin playing rugby in Cardiff was Glamorgan Football Club, the team was formed by a group of young men during the 1873/74 season, after a circular letter was sent to interested parties by S. Campell Cory. Playing under the Cheltenham College rules, Glamorgan FC had increased its membership to sixty six by November 1874,1874 saw Glamorgans first away game, against Cowbridge Grammar School, and by 1875 the team played its first encounter with Newport. Of the three teams, Glamorgan and Wanderers became the most notable, but both teams rarely travelled, and both had difficulty beating the now established clubs of Newport and Swansea. The supporters of both clubs started an agitation in the summer of 1876 for the two clubs to amalgamate, to give Cardiff town a chance of beating the neighbouring teams. On Friday 22 September 1876 members of the Glamorgan and Wanderers clubs met at the Swiss Hall in Queen Street, Cardiff and decided to make a single club, the first team captain was Donaldson Selby of Glamorgan and the vice-captain W. D. Phillips of Wanderers. Cardiff FC played their first fixture on 2 December 1876, versus Newport at Wentloog Marshes, in 1881, Cardiff beat Llanelli to win the South Wales Challenge Cup, though the tournament was scrapped soon after due to persistent crowd trouble. In 1881, Newport based sports administrator, Richard Mullock, formed the first Welsh international rugby team, despite the team losing heavily to England, Mullock had chosen four players from Cardiff to represent the team, club captain William David Phillips, vice-captain B. B. Mann, Barry Girling and Leonard Watkins, a reflection on the clubs importance at the time, a month later, on 12 March 1881, Cardiff RFC was one of the eleven clubs present at the formation of the Welsh Rugby Union in Neath. A notable early player was Frank Hancock, a skilful centre, Hancock first played for Cardiff due to an injury to a first regular. The system was adopted by the Welsh national team and the seven backs. Cardiff RFC and Hancock were jointly recognised by the International Rugby Board in 2011 for this innovation with induction to the IRB Hall of Fame, in 1898, Cardiff were unofficial club champions of Wales for the first time. One year later, centre Gwyn Nicholls became the first Cardiff player to play for the British and Irish Lions, Nicholls would also go on to captain Wales between 1902 and 1906. In 1904, Cardiff players fly-half Percy Bush, centre Rhys Gabe and Arthur Boxer Harding all went on the Lions tour to Australia and New Zealand. Bush scored in the first and second test against Australia, as Nicholls had, and thanks to his tries and goal-kicking during the first three Tests, finished as the top Test points scorer. In 1905, there were four Cardiff players in the Wales team that famously beat New Zealand, Harding, Nicholls, Bush, Gabe and Bert Winfield, after an eight-year wait, Cardiff also managed to win the unofficial Welsh club championship in 1906 and 1907

29.
Cardiff Arms Park
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Cardiff Arms Park, also known as The Arms Park and the BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park for sponsorship reasons from September 2014, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, the Arms Park also hosted the inaugural Heineken Cup Final of 1995–96 and the following year in 1996–97. The history of the ground begins with the first stands appearing for spectators in the ground in 1881–1882. Originally the Arms Park had a ground to the north. By 1969, the ground had been demolished to make way for the present day rugby ground to the north. The site also has a green to the north of the rugby ground, which is used by Cardiff Athletic Bowls Club. The National Stadium also hosted music concerts including Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Bon Jovi, The Rolling Stones. The Cardiff Arms Park site was called the Great Park. The hotel was built by Sir Thomas Morgan, during the reign of Charles I, Cardiff Arms Park was named after this hotel. From 1803, the Cardiff Arms Hotel and the Park had become the property of the Bute family, the Arms Park soon became a popular place for sporting events, and by 1848, Cardiff Cricket Club was using the site for its cricket matches. However, by 1878, Cardiff Arms Hotel had been demolished, the 3rd Marquess of Bute stipulated that the ground could only be used for recreational purposes. At that time Cardiff Arms Park had a ground to the north. 1881–2 saw the first stands for spectators, they held 300 spectators, the architect was Archibald Leitch, famous for designing Ibrox Stadium and Old Trafford, amongst others. In 1890, new standing areas were constructed along the length of the ground. By 1912, the Cardiff Football Ground, as it was known, had a new south stand and temporary stands on the north. The south stand was covered, while the terrace was initially without a roof. The improvements were funded by the Welsh Rugby Union

30.
Llanelli RFC
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Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 Since the regionalisation of Welsh rugby Llanelli are now a feeder club to the Scarlets regional team. The club began the 2008–09 season at their home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli. Sosban Fach is a nickname of Llanelli RFC, Sosban Fach is the name of a Welsh song, the team colours are scarlet and white. Llanelli RFC was founded on 11 November 1875 when a group of local gentlemen met at the Athenaeum in Llanelli to form a football club. The first recorded match was played on 1 January 1876, against Cambria, the result was a draw, but Llanelli were declared winners as they had grounded the ball defensively fewer times than their opponents. Their second match was against Swansea on 5 February 1876, another draw, during this early period the team played in blue shirts and blue caps at Peoples Park. Llanelli RFC moved to Stradey Park in 1879, switching their colours to blue, the team switched their colours three more times before 1884, adopting black, then rose before switching to red and chocolate quarters. In 1884 Llanelli played an Irish XV who stopped off in the town and their first major trophies came in 1884 and 1886 with the South Wales Challenge Cup, the forerunner of the modern Welsh Cup. December 1888 saw the team beat a touring New Zealand Natives team by 3–0 with a goal from Harry Bowen. The team claimed their first full international scalp in 1908 when they beat Australia 8–3 and this would be the first of many famous victories over touring international sides. Players that wore the Scarlet jersey in this era included Albert Jenkins. After the war Lewis Jones was one of the stars of the game and he was capped by Wales aged just 18 in 1950, and was instrumental in their Grand Slam win that year. However just two later, he switched codes from the then amateur rugby union to the professional rugby league. Success was however not away from Stradey for long, a victory over Australia came in 1967 and the club was about to enter what many would argue was its strongest era. 9 –3 is a poem by Welsh comedian and singer Max Boyce, Llanelli took a 6–0 lead through a converted try but New Zealand struck back to make it 6–3. A long distance Andy Hill penalty ensured Llanelli emerged victors by 9–3, the poem is best known for the line The day the pubs ran dry, as huge celebrations followed and many pubs in the town sold out of all alcoholic drinks. The next notable period for Llanelli RFC was during the late 1980s, with players such as Ieuan Evans amongst the squad, Llanelli won the Welsh Cup five times in eight years between 1985 and 1993 including in consecutive seasons in 1991,1992 and 1993. They achieved their most recent success against international opponents when they beat Australia, the late 1990s and early years of the 21st century also produced many Welsh internationals including Rupert Moon, Ricky Evans, Wayne Proctor, Scott Quinnell and Stephen Jones

31.
Stradey Park
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Stradey Park was a rugby union stadium located near the centre of the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was the home of the Scarlets region and Llanelli RFC rugby teams, the stadium was a combination of seating and standing with a total capacity of 10,800. With the Scarlets having moved to Parc y Scarlets, Stradey Park was demolished in 2010 and is to be replaced with housing, the ground originally opened in 1879 for use by Llanelli RFC. In 1887, Stradey Park was chosen to host its first international rugby union match, Stradey Park was selected as part of the 1887 Home Nations Championship, with the opening home match for Wales being against England. The adjacent cricket ground was in condition, so the match was moved there along with the entire crowd. Four years later, Stradey Park was given chance to host the national side when they were again selected to host the Home Nations Championship. In the final match, Stradey Park played host to Ireland and again temporary stands were erected, on this occasion there were no problems and the ground successfully hosted an international match on 7 March 1891. Two years later, Stradey Park was the venue of the 1893 Home Nations Championship. Wales, under the captaincy of Welsh rugby legend Arthur Gould, beat the Irish team by a try scored by Goulds brother. The score not only gave Wales the win but also saw Wales lift the Triple Crown for the very first time in the countrys history, the ground has seen many memorable games including the defeat of Australia in 1967 and the All Blacks in 1972. It also hosted the match between Argentina and Samoa during the 1999 Rugby World Cup, one rugby league game was held at Stradey Park. This was between Wales and Lebanon in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup on 2 November 2000. Due to the owners, Llanelli RFU Ltd. having financial difficulties following the game turning professional. The ground was repurchased by Llanelli RFU Ltd. in 2005, on 24 October 2008, the Scarlets defeated Bristol in the last ever game to be held at the ground by 28 points to nil, a crowd of over 10,800 witnessing the event. When the Scarlets regional side was formed in 2004, it was decided that they would play the majority of their fixtures at Stradey Park. Llanelli RFC continued to play their matches at the ground. The stadium was also host for the Llanelli A. F. C, UEFA Cup games in the 2006/07 season. The last ever game to be played at Stradey Park was played on 24 October 2008, in an EDF Energy Cup match between the Scarlets and Bristol, the Scarlets won 27–0

32.
Neath RFC
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Neath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. The clubs home ground is The Gnoll, Neath, the first team is known as the All Blacks because of the team colours, black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem. Neath RFC is the oldest rugby club in Wales, having formed in 1871. They are feeder club to the Ospreys regional team, Neath Rugby Football club was established in 1871 by a consortium of ten enthusiasts, their captain at the time, T. P. Whittington would later play international rugby for Scotland in 1873. The clubs nickname, The Welsh All Blacks, comes from their iconic strip of black jersey, shorts, the origin of the team colours is not known for sure. Originally the clubs represented the team in various dark kits. It is believed that the strip was later switched to the black kit as a mark of respect to player Dick Gordon. On 12 June 1881, eleven teams met in the Castle Hotel, strangely Neath RFC was not recorded as being present, even though the meeting took place in the town. It is unknown if this was an oversight by the committee to record the presence of the club, one theory put forward is that the president, John Llewellyn and secretary, Sam Clark of the South Wales Football Union were both Neath men. By attending this new union they would be destroying the SWFU, Sam Clark would in turn become the first Welsh international from Neath RFC, playing in the second Wales game on 28 January 1882. In 1887/88 Neath RFC undertook their first tour of the northern English clubs, including Hartlepool, Manningham, the next season Neath played host to Widnes on Christmas Day before undertaking a further northern tour taking on a further five teams in six days. During the 1890/91 season a South West England tour was introduced and their 2008/09 cup winning season, in which they claimed a jammy victory over Llanelli at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. This was the first year since the cup name changed from Konica Minolta Cup to Swalec Cup and their 2007/08 championship season, their fourth in succession, was overshadowed by the death of scrum-half of Gareth Jones, on 16 June 2008. Jones had been injured in a match against Cardiff RFC on 20 April, Neath RFC hold the world record for the number of points and tries accumulated in one season. This record was set during the 1988/89 season, it is worth noting that a try was worth 4 points at the time the record was broken. The record for the most tries scored in a game in the era is held by Richard Smith. In January 2010 against Kidwelly RFC Smith scored 7 tries, the pre-regional record of 6 tries is jointly held by Howie Jones, W. D. Williams, Keith Maddocks, Alan Edmunds. The company that runs Neath RFC is Neath Rugby Ltd and owns 50% of the Ospreys professional side, geraint Hawkes,48, and Janis Hawkes,75, were given the ban at a hearing in Cardiff on Wednesday

33.
Aberavon RFC
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Aberavon RFC is a rugby union club located in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, although the clubs name refers to the older settlement of Aberavon which lies on the western side of the town. It was founded in 1876 as Afan Football Club, and changed several times before settling on Aberavon Rugby Football Club. They are feeder club to the Ospreys regional team, although not a founding member of the Welsh Rugby Union rugby has been played at Aberavon since before the unions conception. In the 1870s Mansel tinplate works was built in the area, the earliest game being recorded in the Western Mail on 4 November 1878 against a team from Bridgend. Like many early Welsh clubs the teams met at a local hotel, in 1882 Aberavon took part in the South Wales Challenge Cup, their first competitive game, and in the 1886/87 season Aberavon RFC applied to and were accepted into the WRU. By 1897 Aberavon RFC were able to boast their first capped player, an indicator of Aberavons growing success occurred in 1908, when a joint Neath/Aberavon team was chosen as one of the teams to face the first touring Australian side. The match turned out to be an ill played affair with poor discipline on all sides, in 1914 following the outbreak of World War I, the committee of Aberavon RFC decided that rugby football should cease until the end of hostilities. During the war years their ground was sectioned off to be made into allotments to help the war effort, in 1921 the Central Athletic Ground was relaid and a stand erected, Aberavon RFC returned to their home ground. During the 1920/21 season, W. H. Taylor of The Evening Post, the name stuck and was shortened sometimes to The Welsh Wizards or just The Wizards, the nickname stays with the club to this day. In 1932 Aberavon Supporters Club reformed, after an attempt failed in 1920. 1935 saw The Central Athletic ground being renamed the Talbot Athletic Ground, in 1952 Aberavon RFC changed their shirt colours for the final time to red and black hoops, and later that year succeeded in becoming the absolute owners of the Talbot Athletic ground. The expansion of the steel works in the 1950s also aided in bringing new enthusiasts to the area. Twice in the 1970s Aberavon reached the final of the WRU Challenge Cup, on both occasions, in 1974 and 1975, the club lost by a slight margin to the tournaments most successful team Llanelli. In 1976 Aberavon played the Argentina national team which toured Wales and England, however, in the same season they defeated the touring Italian national team. As a result, Aberavon struggled for much of the following season and this in turn led to the club being incorporated as a limited company run by a board of directors, which was essentially what the players were seeking in 1988. Aberavon then faced a two-legged play-off with Caerphilly, who had been relegated from the Premier Division, Aberavon lost the play-off and remained in Division 1 for the 2002/3 season. The play-off was scrapped after this season, in May 2003, the same scenario as the previous season occurred with both Pontypool and Aberavon locked in a two horse race for the title. Due to the clubs original January fixture being rearranged, the title would be decided in a winner-takes-all clash at the Talbot Athletic Ground on 13 May 2003

34.
The Gnoll
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The Gnoll in Neath, Wales is a sports ground, with a capacity of 5,000. It is used primarily for rugby union and rugby league, although it has also used previously for association football. In July 2009, Neath RFC presented plans for the redevelopment of the Gnoll, including building a community centre on the site, the Gnoll is the traditional home of Neath RFC, one of the leading Welsh clubs in the pre-regional era of rugby. It has hosted Neath since the club was founded in 1871, the ground has a capacity of 5,000. South Wales Scorpions have played at the Gnoll since their formation in 2010, the ground hosted a Wales national rugby league team match during the 2010 European Cup, where Wales defeated Ireland 31-30. It also hosted Ireland at the Gnoll in at the 2011 Rugby League Four Nations, Wales won the game by 30 points to 6. The stadium also hosted Wales v Cook Islands at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, it was the smallest venue used at the tournament, Welsh Premier League club Neath Athletic played at The Gnoll between 2008, and their liquidation in 2012. The ground hosted its first ever football match when Neath Athletic played Swansea City in a friendly in July 2008. The Gnoll started to host some Glamorgan County Championship fixtures in the 1930s, however, problems with the pitch meant that from the late 1960s the ground was only used for one-day matches - in 1969 the Gnoll staged the countys first-ever home game in the Sunday League. In 1974, the Gnoll was dropped from the countys 1st XI fixture list, list of rugby league stadiums by capacity

35.
Lancashire County Rugby Football Union
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In addition it is the county that has won the county championship on most occasions. Club history precedes that of county rugby football, the first match arranged for the county of Lancashire took place in 1870, at Leeds against Yorkshire. This match was known as the Battle of the Roses and was considered the blue ribbon of Northern rugby football. To be selected to represent the county was an honour bestowed long before the foundation of the Lancashire RFU, from 1870 to 1881 the government and arrangement of county matches in Lancashire vested in Manchester Football Club. Though self-appointed, Manchester was recognised as the authority by the other great Lancashire club, a movement of emerging new clubs, headed by W. Bell, the honorary secretary of the Broughton Football Club, had an objective to secure a voice in the selection of county teams. Bell was supported by a committee consisting of, G. C. Lindsay, A. M. Crook, F. C, notably, the Manchester Club did not take part, but a resolution to form the Lancashire Football Union was agreed. The initial committee had W. Bell as its honorary secretary, two county matches were arranged altogether versus the Midland Counties and Lanarkshire. It was agreed the president, a vice-president, the hon, also, all Home County matches would be played on the ground of the Manchester Football Club. The first officers and clubs elected to represent the newly formed Lancashire County Football Club were, PRESIDENT, James MacLaren, SECRETARY AND TREASURER, W. Grave, Esq. COMMITTEE, Manchester, Liverpool, Broughton, Cheetham, Preston, Manchester Rangers, Rochdale Hornets, Oldham, Swinton, the first match was versus the Midland Counties, played at Coventry on 26 March 1882. Albert Neilson Hornby became president after James MacLaren resigned the office on 1 October 1884, Lancashire, led by Edward Temple Gurdon, won by a try, gained by Vincent Slater. In February 1889 it was proposed that the county shall be divided out into five districts each with three representatives, removing club based representation on the committee, Lancashire won the 1890-91 season of the County Championship, despite the county championship having been organised by arch-rivals, Yorkshire. Lancashire won all their games with not a goal being scored against them in any of the county matches they played and they then played the Rest of England, on 18 April 1891. In 1891-92 Lancashire were defeated by Yorkshire who therefore wrested the championship of England from Lancashire, the county side has reached the County Championship Final 36 times, winning the title on 23 occasions. Lancashire have played in ten of the past twelve finals and has won seven of ten finals. From 1984 all Championship finals were played at Twickenham, amongst the clubs falling within the Lancashire County Rugby Football Union are several clubs of national renown including Preston Grasshoppers, Fylde, Waterloo, Liverpool, Orrell. Since 1971 there has been a county club competition called the Lancashire Cup

36.
Ulster Rugby
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Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the Pro12 and the European Rugby Champions Cup, Ulster play their home games at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast which has a capacity of 18,196. The province plays primarily in white and the team crest features a red hand within two rugby balls, the red hand being taken from the flag of Ulster. Ulster A competes in the British and Irish Cup, Ulster won the Heineken Cup in 1999, the Celtic Cup in 2003 and the Celtic League in 2006. The Ulster Branch of the IRFU was founded in 1879, since then, Ulster has been arguably the most successful of the four Irish provinces having won the Inter-Provincial Championship a record 26 times. In the amateur rugby union era, Ulster regularly played international touring sides from the southern hemisphere and their most impressive performance was in the 1984/5 season when they defeated Andrew Slacks Grand Slam Wallabies. In the 1998–99 season, Ulster became the first Irish province to win the Heineken Cup and they beat French side US Colomiers 21–6 in the final at Lansdowne Road. The Ulster squad contained many part-time players two of whom, Andy Matchett and Stephen McKinty, started the final and this Ulster side was coached by Harry Williams and managed by John Kinnear. From 2001 to 2004, the Ulster team was coached by Alan Solomons and it was during this time that Ulster fully embraced the professional era. Alan Solomons coached Ulster to an unbeaten home record in the Heineken Cup. In the 2003–04 season, Ulster finished second in the Celtic League, despite an initially poor start to the season, the two extended Ulsters unbeaten home record in Europe to four years. However, inconsistent late form from Ulster, combined with a run from Leinster. In Ulsters final match against the Ospreys with Ulster one point behind, David Humphreys kicked a 40-metre drop goal to clinch the game, Ulster started the 2006–07 season in fine form racking up a number of victories including a 30–3 thrashing of Heineken Cup contenders Toulouse. The team began the 2007–08 season with a run of form. Mark McCall resigned in November following Ulsters embarrassing 32–14 home defeat to Gloucester in the round of the 2007–08 Heineken Cup. Assistant coach Steve Williams took temporary charge of the team, under Williams, Ulster had some initial success, however several defeats left them firmly rooted to the bottom of the Celtic League and out of Europe. In December, former Leinster and Scotland Head Coach Matt Williams was named Mark McCalls successor as Ulsters Head Coach. He took charge at the beginning of February 2008, but despite some improved performances, he failed to turn the season around, on 21 May 2009, Matt Williams resigned as Ulsters Head Coach after finishing 8th in the Celtic League that season

37.
Belfast
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Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, the second largest on the island of Ireland, and the heart of the tenth largest Primary Urban Area in the United Kingdom. On the River Lagan, it had a population of 286,000 at the 2011 census and 333,871 after the 2015 council reform, Belfast was granted city status in 1888. Belfast played a key role in the Industrial Revolution, and was an industrial centre until the latter half of the 20th century. It has sustained a major aerospace and missiles industry since the mid 1930s, industrialisation and the inward migration it brought made Belfast Irelands biggest city at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, Belfast remains a centre for industry, as well as the arts, higher education, business, and law, additionally, Belfast city centre has undergone considerable expansion and regeneration in recent years, notably around Victoria Square. Belfast is served by two airports, George Best Belfast City Airport in the city, and Belfast International Airport 15 miles west of the city. Although the county borough of Belfast was created when it was granted city status by Queen Victoria in 1888, the site of Belfast has been occupied since the Bronze Age. The Giants Ring, a 5, 000-year-old henge, is located near the city, Belfast remained a small settlement of little importance during the Middle Ages. The ONeill clan had a presence in the area, in the 14th century, Cloinne Aodha Buidhe, descendants of Aodh Buidhe ONeill built Grey Castle at Castlereagh, now in the east of the city. Conn ONeill of the Clannaboy ONeills owned vast lands in the area and was the last inhabitant of Grey Castle, evidence of this period of Belfasts growth can still be seen in the oldest areas of the city, known as the Entries. Belfast blossomed as a commercial and industrial centre in the 18th and 19th centuries, industries thrived, including linen, rope-making, tobacco, heavy engineering and shipbuilding, and at the end of the 19th century, Belfast briefly overtook Dublin as the largest city in Ireland. The Harland and Wolff shipyards became one of the largest shipbuilders in the world, in 1886 the city suffered intense riots over the issue of home rule, which had divided the city. In 1920–22, Belfast became the capital of the new entity of Northern Ireland as the island of Ireland was partitioned, the accompanying conflict cost up to 500 lives in Belfast, the bloodiest sectarian strife in the city until the Troubles of the late 1960s onwards. Belfast was heavily bombed during World War II, in one raid, in 1941, German bombers killed around one thousand people and left tens of thousands homeless. Apart from London, this was the greatest loss of life in a raid during the Blitz. Belfast has been the capital of Northern Ireland since its establishment in 1921 following the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and it had been the scene of various episodes of sectarian conflict between its Catholic and Protestant populations. These opposing groups in conflict are now often termed republican and loyalist respectively. The most recent example of conflict was known as the Troubles – a civil conflict that raged from around 1969 to 1998

38.
Dublin
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Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Dublin is in the province of Leinster on Irelands east coast, the city has an urban area population of 1,345,402. The population of the Greater Dublin Area, as of 2016, was 1,904,806 people, founded as a Viking settlement, the Kingdom of Dublin became Irelands principal city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire before the Acts of Union in 1800, following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, later renamed Ireland. Dublin is administered by a City Council, the city is listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-, which places it amongst the top thirty cities in the world. It is a historical and contemporary centre for education, the arts, administration, economy, the name Dublin comes from the Irish word Dubhlinn, early Classical Irish Dubhlind/Duibhlind, dubh /d̪uβ/, alt. /d̪uw/, alt /d̪u, / meaning black, dark, and lind /lʲiɲ pool and this tidal pool was located where the River Poddle entered the Liffey, on the site of the castle gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle. In Modern Irish the name is Duibhlinn, and Irish rhymes from Dublin County show that in Dublin Leinster Irish it was pronounced Duílinn /d̪ˠi, other localities in Ireland also bear the name Duibhlinn, variously anglicized as Devlin, Divlin and Difflin. Historically, scribes using the Gaelic script wrote bh with a dot over the b and those without knowledge of Irish omitted the dot, spelling the name as Dublin. Variations on the name are found in traditionally Irish-speaking areas of Scotland, such as An Linne Dhubh. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. Baile Átha Cliath, meaning town of the ford, is the common name for the city in modern Irish. Áth Cliath is a name referring to a fording point of the River Liffey near Father Mathew Bridge. Baile Átha Cliath was an early Christian monastery, believed to have been in the area of Aungier Street, there are other towns of the same name, such as Àth Cliath in East Ayrshire, Scotland, which is Anglicised as Hurlford. Although the area of Dublin Bay has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times and he called the settlement Eblana polis. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. The subsequent Scandinavian settlement centred on the River Poddle, a tributary of the Liffey in an area now known as Wood Quay, the Dubhlinn was a small lake used to moor ships, the Poddle connected the lake with the Liffey. This lake was covered during the early 18th century as the city grew, the Dubhlinn lay where the Castle Garden is now located, opposite the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle

39.
Workington
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Workington is a town, civil parish and port at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast of Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland and lying in the Borough of Allerdale, Workington is 32 miles southwest of Carlisle,7 miles west of Cockermouth, at the 2011 Census it had a population of 25,207. Workington is the seat of Allerdale Borough Council, sue Hayman is the MP for the constituency of the same name that includes other towns in Workingtons hinterland. The area around Workington has long been a producer of coal, between AD79 and AD122, Roman forts, mile-forts and watchtowers were established along the Cumbrian coast. They were coastal defences against attacks by the Scoti from Ireland and by the Caledonii, the 16th-century Britannia, written by William Camden describes ruins of the coastal defences at Workington. A Viking sword was discovered at Northside, which is believed to indicate there was a settlement at the rivers mouth. In 2007, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors named Washington Square as the best commercial project in North West England, several works of public art were installed in the town centre, including, Glass Canopies designed by Alexander Beleschenko. The Hub by BASE Structures and Illustrious, the Grilles architectural metalwork at Central Car Park by Tom Lomax in association with pupils from St Patricks Primary School and Alan Dawson. by Paul Scott and Robert Drake. Lookout Clock, a town clock designed by Andy Plant. In 2011 a closed meeting of Allerdale councillors took place to discuss the sale of the site, Tesco stated that they were still seeking a site for a store of around 60,000 sq ft in Workington to replace the established store. Workington lies astride the River Derwent, on the West Cumbrian coastal plain and it is bounded to the west by the Solway Firth, part of the Irish Sea, and by the Lake District fells to the east. The town comprises various districts, many of which were established as housing estates, North of the river these districts include Seaton, Barepot, Northside, Port and Oldside. The Marsh and Quay, a working class area of the town around the docks. Much of the area of the Marsh is now covered by Clay Flatts Industrial Estate. The Cumbria iron ore field lies to the south of Workington, for the first 25 years of the process, until Gilchrist and Thomas improved upon it, phosphorus-free haematite was required. With Cumbria as the premier source, and the local coalfield providing energy for steel production. The Bessemer converter continued to work until July 1974, the Moss Bay Steelworks closed in 1982, despite having received significant infrastructural investment and improvements almost immediately prior to the closure. Workington was the home of Distington Engineering Company, the arm of British Steel Corporation

40.
Aberdeen
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Nicknames include the Granite City, the Grey City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands. During the mid-18th to mid-20th centuries, Aberdeens buildings incorporated locally quarried grey granite, since the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s, other nicknames have been the Oil Capital of the World or the Energy Capital of the World. The area around Aberdeen has been settled since at least 8,000 years ago, the city has a long, sandy coastline and a marine climate, the latter resulting in chilly summers and mild winters. Aberdeen received Royal Burgh status from David I of Scotland, transforming the city economically, the traditional industries of fishing, paper-making, shipbuilding, and textiles have been overtaken by the oil industry and Aberdeens seaport. Aberdeen Heliport is one of the busiest commercial heliports in the world, in 2015, Mercer named Aberdeen the 57th most liveable city in the world, as well as the fourth most liveable city in Britain. In 2012, HSBC named Aberdeen as a business hub and one of eight super cities spearheading the UKs economy. The Aberdeen area has seen human settlement for at least 8,000 years. The city began as two separate burghs, Old Aberdeen at the mouth of the river Don, and New Aberdeen, a fishing and trading settlement, the earliest charter was granted by William the Lion in 1179 and confirmed the corporate rights granted by David I. In 1319, the Great Charter of Robert the Bruce transformed Aberdeen into a property-owning, granted with it was the nearby Forest of Stocket, whose income formed the basis for the citys Common Good Fund which still benefits Aberdonians. The city was burned by Edward III of England in 1336, but was rebuilt and extended, the city was strongly fortified to prevent attacks by neighbouring lords, but the gates were removed by 1770. During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1644–1647 the city was plundered by both sides, in 1644, it was taken and ransacked by Royalist troops after the Battle of Aberdeen and two years later it was stormed by a Royalist force under the command of Marquis of Huntly. In 1647 an outbreak of plague killed a quarter of the population. In the 18th century, a new Town Hall was built and the first social services appeared with the Infirmary at Woolmanhill in 1742 and the Lunatic Asylum in 1779. The council began major road improvements at the end of the 18th century with the main thoroughfares of George Street, King Street, gas street lighting arrived in 1824 and an enhanced water supply appeared in 1830 when water was pumped from the Dee to a reservoir in Union Place. An underground sewer system replaced open sewers in 1865, the city was incorporated in 1891. Although Old Aberdeen has a history and still holds its ancient charter. It is an part of the city, as is Woodside. Old Aberdeen is the location of Aberdon, the first settlement of Aberdeen

Wales national rugby union team
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The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy, Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 26 times outright. Wales most recent championship win came in 2013, the governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union, was establish

1.
The 1895 Wales team before playing England in the Home Nations Championship

2.
Wales

3.
Wales' 1905 team that defeated New Zealand

4.
A scrum in the Wales victory over New Zealand's Original All Blacks in 1905

Ireland national rugby union team
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The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship, which they have won twelve times outright, the team also competes every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions. Ireland is also one of t

1.
First Ireland rugby team: played England on 19 February 1875 and lost by 2 goals and a try to nil

2.
Ireland

3.
1920 illustration of the Ireland versus Wales rugby match

4.
Ireland playing at Croke Park.

England national rugby union team
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The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy and they are ranked second in the world by the International Rugby Board as of 20 June 2016. England were the first, and to date, the team from the northern hemisphere to win the Rugby Wo

1.
England before they played in the first international; versus Scotland in Edinburgh, 1871.

2.
England

3.
England versus The Original All Blacks in 1905; the New Zealanders won 15–0.

Scotland national rugby union team
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The Scotland national rugby union team represents Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union, the team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and participates in the Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years. As of 27 February 2017, Scotland are fifth in the World

1.
Scotland's first national team, 1871, for the 1st international, vs. England in Edinburgh.

2.
Scotland

3.
The Calcutta Cup

4.
Scotland v Ireland 2007

Rugby union
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Rugby union, known in some parts of the world simply as rugby, is a contact team sport which originated in England in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is between two teams of 15 players using a ball on a rectangular field with H-shaped

1.
South African Victor Matfield takes a line-out against New Zealand in 2006.

2.
Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, with a rugby football pitch in the foreground

3.
James Ryan, captain of the New Zealand Army team, receiving the Kings Cup from George V.

4.
Sébastien Chabal (far left) in number eight position before entering the scrum.

South Africa national rugby union team
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The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks, is governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerseys with white shorts, and their emblems are the Springbok, the team has been representing South Africa in international rugby union since 30 July 1891, when they played their first te

1.
1891 British Isles versus Cape Colony match—the first match of the British Isles tour of South Africa.

2.
South Africa

3.
The 1906 Springboks team.

4.
The Springboks team that faced New Zealand in 1921.

Bennie Osler
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Benjamin Louwrens Osler was a rugby union footballer who played internationally for South Africa. Osler played mainly at fly-half for both South Africa, and his team of Western Province. Osler was born at Aliwal North and he was first selected to play on 16 August 1924 against Britain when they toured South Africa. This was the first of his 17 cons

1.
Bennie Osler

Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union
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The Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union is the union responsible for rugby union in the county of Gloucestershire, England and is one of the constituent bodies of the national Rugby Football Union. Formed in 1878, it has won the county championship on numerous occasions, the Union was formed at a meeting held at Gloucester in September,1878. At th

1.
Gloucestershire County Rugby Football Union

Bristol
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Bristol is a city and county in South West England with a population of 449,300 in 2016. The district has the 10th largest population in England, while the Bristol metropolitan area is the 12th largest in the United Kingdom, the city borders North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, with the cities of Bath and Gloucester to the south-east and north

1.
Bristol

3.
Black and white etching showing the towers of St Stephen's Church, St Augustine the Less Church and Bristol Cathedral, published c.1850

4.
West front of Bristol Cathedral

Newport RFC
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Newport Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, South Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Premier Division, Newport RFC are based at Rodney Parade situated on the east bank of the River Usk. Due to the regionalisation of Welsh rugby in 2003 Newport RFC is now a club to Newport Gwent Dragons regional team. N

1.
Scrum between Newport and London Welsh 31 December 1904

2.
Newport RFC

Rodney Parade
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Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales. It is operated by Rodney Parade Limited, a wholly owned by Newport Rugby Football Club. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre, the ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the citys central bus and railway stations via Newport Bridge or Newport City

1.
Rodney Parade West Stand

2.
Rodney Parade viewed looking eastwards from Newport Cathedral across the River Usk

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Rodney Parade memorial gates

4.
Rodney Parade East Gate, Corporation Road

Swansea RFC
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Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premiership. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea, the team is also known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip. The club is a club to the Ospreys. The club was founded in 1872 and, in 1881 it became one of the founde

1.
Swansea RFC

St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground
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St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground is a sports venue in Swansea, Wales, owned and operated by the City and County of Swansea Council. Used mainly for rugby union and cricket, it has been the ground of Swansea RFC. In rugby union, St Helens was the venue for the first ever match of the Wales national team in 1882. It continued to be used regularly b

1.
St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground

2.
Cricket pavilion

Abertillery RFC
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Abertillery Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in Abertillery. According to their website, they were founded in 1883, though sources state 1884. Their team colours are green and white and their ground is Abertillery Park in Abertillery. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a club for the Newport Gwent Dragons. The

1.
Abertillery RFC

Cross Keys RFC
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Cross Keys RFC is a rugby union club located in the Welsh village of Crosskeys. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a club for Newport Gwent Dragons regional team. Cross Keys are a team that have a history of achievements for a small. They first achieved first class-status in 1909, almost forcing their way into the top flight by wi

1.
Cross Keys RFC

Abertillery
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Abertillery (/ˌæbərtᵻˈlɛəri/, Welsh, Abertyleri, meaning mouth of the River Tyleri is the largest town of the Ebbw Fach valley in what was the historic county of Monmouthshire, Wales. Following local government reorganisation it became part of the Blaenau Gwent County Borough administrative area, the surrounding landscape borders the Brecon Beacons

1.
The view towards Abertillery from the head of the Tyleri

2.
Former " Pontlottyn " department store

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Guardian memorial at Parc Arael Griffin Six Bells.

4.
The western outskirts of Abertillery as seen from the hillside above "The Park".

Twickenham Stadium
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Twickenham Stadium is a rugby union stadium in Twickenham, south west London, England. Owned by the body of rugby union in England, the Rugby Football Union. The RFU headquarters are based in the stadium and it is the second largest stadium in the UK, after Wembley Stadium, and the fourth largest in Europe. Twickenham is often referred to as the ho

Villa Park
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Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Aston Villa Football Club since 1897, the ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway stations and has hosted sixteen England internationals at senior level, the first in 1899 and the most recent in 2005. It w

1.
View of the North and Doug Ellis stands

2.
The Holte Hotel behind the Holte End, part of the original Aston Lower Grounds, refurbished in 2006

3.
The brick facade of the Holte End, rebuilt in 1994 in the style of the previous stand

4.
A diagram showing the alignment of stands at Villa Park

Roker Park
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Roker Park was an English football stadium situated in Roker, Sunderland. The stadium was the home of the English football club Sunderland A. F. C. from 1897 to 1997 before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Near the end of the history, its capacity was around 22,500 with only a small part of the stadium being seated. The stadiums capacity had

1.
Kick-off at Sunderland v. Arsenal, August 1976

2.
Roker park (top left) pictured from above in 1967

3.
Sunderland fans during the final match at Roker Park in 1997

Anniesland
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Anniesland Scottish Gaelic, Fearann Anna is a district in the West End of the Scottish city Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde, and centres on the junction of the Great Western Road and Crow Road, originally a farm owned by the Jordanhill estate, it was slowly sold-off during the late Victorian era as Glasgow quickly expanded. Its col

1.
Ascot Cinema converted into flats in 2002

Melrose, Scotland
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Melrose is a small town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders, historically in Roxburghshire. It is in the Eildon committee area, the towns name is recorded in its earliest form as Mailros, the bare peninsula, referring to the original site of the monastery, recorded by Bede, in a bend of the river Tweed. The original monastery at Melrose is ref

1.
Melrose

2.
A wall plaque at the Townhouse Hotel in Melrose, Scotland. Spence lived the first 14 years of her life in a building which is now part of the hotel.

3.
Melrose Abbey

4.
Eildon Hills

Cambridge University R.U.F.C.
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The Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club, sometimes abbreviated CURUFC, is the rugby union club of the University of Cambridge. The team plays Oxford University RFC in the annual Varsity Match at Twickenham Stadium every December, Cambridge players wear light blue and white hooped jerseys with a red lion crest. Many have gone on to repres

2.
Cambridge University R.U.F.C.

Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
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Cambridge is a university city and the county town of Cambridgeshire, England, on the River Cam about 50 miles north of London. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, its population was 123,867, there is archaeological evidence of settlement in the area in the Bronze Age and in Roman Britain, under Viking rule, Cambridge became an important trading cen

1.
King's College Chapel, seen from the Backs

2.
St Bene't's Church, the oldest standing building in Cambridge.

3.
Peterhouse was the first college to be founded in the University of Cambridge.

4.
Cambridge in 1575

Oxford University RFC
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The Oxford University Rugby Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham, Oxford University RFC was founded in 1869, fifteen months before the creation of the Rugby Football Union. The first Varsity Match was played in February 1872 in Ox

1.
Leadership

Oxford
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Oxford is a city in the South East region of England and the county town of Oxfordshire. With an estimated 2015 population of 168,270, it is the 52nd largest city in the United Kingdom, the city is situated 57 miles from London,69 miles from Bristol,65 miles from both Southampton and Birmingham and 25 miles from Reading. The city is known worldwide

1.
From top left to bottom right: Oxford skyline panorama from St Mary's Church; Radcliffe Camera; High Street from above looking east; University College; High Street by night; Natural History Museum and Pitt Rivers Museum.

2.
The Radcliffe Camera, completed in 1748

3.
Royal proclamation granting Lord Mayoralty to Oxford.

4.
Photochrom of the High Street, 1890–1900

Leicester
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Leicester is a city and unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest, in the 2011 census the population of the City of Leicester unitary authority was 329,839 making it the most populous municipality in the East Midlands region.

Devonport, Devon
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Devonport, formerly named Plymouth Dock or just Dock, is a district of Plymouth in the English county of Devon, although it was, at one time, the more important settlement. It became a county borough in 1889, Devonport was originally one of the Three Towns, these merged in 1914 to form what would become in 1928 the City of Plymouth. It is represent

1.
Devonport skyline

2.
Plymouth Dock, 1765: the town is shown encompassed by the dockyard to the west, by the defensive 'lines' and square barracks to the north and east, and by Mount Wise to the south.

3.
Mount Wise: the modern viewing platform and mast atop the old redoubt

4.
Admiralty House, Mount Wise

Cardiff RFC
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Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens and they built a reputation as one of the great clubs in world rugby largely through a series of wins against international touring sides. Both South Africa and New

1.
Cardiff RFC clubhouse

2.
Cardiff RFC

Cardiff Arms Park
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Cardiff Arms Park, also known as The Arms Park and the BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park for sponsorship reasons from September 2014, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, the Arms Park also hosted

1.
Cardiff Arms Park in the foreground and the Millennium Stadium in the background

3.
The West Stand of the National Stadium

4.
Aerial view of the cricket ground

Llanelli RFC
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Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 Since the regionalisation of Welsh rugby Llanelli are now a feeder club to the Scarlets regional team. The club began the 2008–09 season at their home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli. Sosban Fach is a nickname of Llanelli RFC, Sosban Fach is the name of a Welsh song, the te

1.
Llanelli RFC

Stradey Park
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Stradey Park was a rugby union stadium located near the centre of the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was the home of the Scarlets region and Llanelli RFC rugby teams, the stadium was a combination of seating and standing with a total capacity of 10,800. With the Scarlets having moved to Parc y Scarlets, Stradey Park was demolished i

Neath RFC
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Neath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. The clubs home ground is The Gnoll, Neath, the first team is known as the All Blacks because of the team colours, black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem. Neath RFC is the oldest rugby club in Wales, having formed in 1871. They are feeder club

Aberavon RFC
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Aberavon RFC is a rugby union club located in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, although the clubs name refers to the older settlement of Aberavon which lies on the western side of the town. It was founded in 1876 as Afan Football Club, and changed several times before settling on Aberavon Rugby Football Club. They are feeder club to the Ospreys regio

1.
A victorious Aberavon team a day after beating a Cork team on a tour of Ireland, 13 April 1909

The Gnoll
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The Gnoll in Neath, Wales is a sports ground, with a capacity of 5,000. It is used primarily for rugby union and rugby league, although it has also used previously for association football. In July 2009, Neath RFC presented plans for the redevelopment of the Gnoll, including building a community centre on the site, the Gnoll is the traditional home

1.
The Gnoll in 2011

2.
Wales vs Cook Islands at The Gnoll

Lancashire County Rugby Football Union
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In addition it is the county that has won the county championship on most occasions. Club history precedes that of county rugby football, the first match arranged for the county of Lancashire took place in 1870, at Leeds against Yorkshire. This match was known as the Battle of the Roses and was considered the blue ribbon of Northern rugby football.

1.
The Lancashire team before a match against Middlesex in 1887

2.
Lancashire County Rugby Football Union formerly Lancashire County Football Club

Ulster Rugby
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Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the Pro12 and the European Rugby Champions Cup, Ulster play their home games at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast which has a capacity of 18,196. The province plays primarily in white and the team crest features a red hand within two rugby

1.
Grandstand, Kingspan Stadium

2.
Ulster Rugby

Belfast
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Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, the second largest on the island of Ireland, and the heart of the tenth largest Primary Urban Area in the United Kingdom. On the River Lagan, it had a population of 286,000 at the 2011 census and 333,871 after the 2015 council reform, Belfast was granted city status in 1888. Belfast playe

1.
Top: Skyline of Belfast Middle top left to right, Queen's University Belfast, Albert Memorial Clock, Belfast, The Boat, Titanic Belfast Bottom left to right: Belfast City Hall, view of Belfast with Samson and Goliath.

2.
Belfast Castle

3.
Donegall Square in the early 1900s

4.
Aftermath of the Blitz in May 1941

Dublin
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Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Dublin is in the province of Leinster on Irelands east coast, the city has an urban area population of 1,345,402. The population of the Greater Dublin Area, as of 2016, was 1,904,806 people, founded as a Viking settlement, the Kingdom of Dublin became Irelands principal city following the Norman in

2.
Father Mathew Bridge, formerly Dublin Bridge, is understood to be near the ancient "Ford of the Hurdles" (Baile Átha Cliath), the original crossing point on the River Liffey.

3.
Dublin Castle was the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland until 1922.

4.
Henrietta Street, developed in the 1720s, is the earliest Georgian Street in Dublin.

Workington
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Workington is a town, civil parish and port at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast of Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland and lying in the Borough of Allerdale, Workington is 32 miles southwest of Carlisle,7 miles west of Cockermouth, at the 2011 Census it had a population of 25,207. Workington is the seat of Allerdale Borough

1.
Portland Square

2.
Workington's New Clock

3.
Skyline of Workington with Lake District fells in the background. Looking to the north east from the shore hills

4.
War memorial tribute to local workers in heavy industries

Aberdeen
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Nicknames include the Granite City, the Grey City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands. During the mid-18th to mid-20th centuries, Aberdeens buildings incorporated locally quarried grey granite, since the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s, other nicknames have been the Oil Capital of the World or the Energy Capital of the World. The area

1.
From the top: Part of the Aberdeen skyline, Aberdeen Harbour, and the High Street in Old Aberdeen.

4.
The Town House, Old Aberdeen. Once a separate burgh, Old Aberdeen was incorporated into the city in 1891